Conventional window regulators used in motor vehicle doors for raising and lowering windowpanes are often of the so-called cable- drum variety. Cable-drum window regulators typically have a cable connecting drive means such as a drive motor to a glider. The glider is connected to the windowpane via an attachment bracket and is slidable over a rail or channel. The rail is typically mounted in an inside cavity of the motor vehicle door so that it is not visible from outside the door. Operation of the motor turns the cable which in turn pulls the glider over the rail to guide the windowpane assembly between a closed position where the windowpane closes an opening and an open position where the windowpane moves at least partially into the cavity in the motor vehicle door. Glass run channels on either side of the windowpane and a header provide a sealing structure for the windowpane. For proper functioning of the window regulator, the rail must be aligned with the run channels; otherwise the run channels may not properly control the windowpane and/or there could be unacceptably high efforts to move the windowpane, and even jamming if the run channels and the rail are sufficiently misaligned. It would be desirable to eliminate the rail from a cable-drum window regulator and yet still provide proper windowpane guidance, stability and control.
Traditionally, window regulators have been assembled separate from the rest of the door, and are only attached to the windowpane and installed into the door at final assembly. However, this can involve awkward assembly processes, as the regulator often needs to be installed through a relatively small opening in an inner panel of the door. Recently simple door cassettes have been developed, wherein typically mechanisms for mounting the glass are affixed to a small plate. Other mechanisms may also be assembled together with the plate as a unit prior to installation into the motor vehicle. However, since the windowpane is not attached to this cassette until original equipment manufacturer (OEM) final assembly, critical functions of these devices, including windowpane cycling, cannot be adequately tested as a stand alone unit separate from the motor vehicle. It would be desirable to produce a window regulator designed for such a door module having enhanced assembly characteristics where a pre-assembled modular unit can be tested and adjusted prior to final assembly.
In addition, it would be desirable to develop a door module of low cost and relatively simply assembly having a three-sided flush exterior appearance, that is, a door module having a windowpane with an exterior surface, where fore, aft and top edges of the exterior surface of the windowpane are generally aligned with an exterior surface of the motor vehicle.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention, at least in preferred embodiments, to provide a door module with an integrated window regulator having reduced cost and complexity while enhancing manufacturability.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a door module having a window regulator controlling a windowpane which is positioned flush with the exterior surface of the motor vehicle on at least three sides.
It is yet another related object of the present invention to provide such a door module that is highly reliable in operation.